The Second Day (and First Morning) in Yuma
Began with a beautiful sunrise
The next morning we woke up early and headed out to Mittry Lake. We wanted to arrive before sunset when the birds would become active. Mittry Lake was created from a natural "oxbow" of the Colorado River. It is between Laguna Dam and Imperial Dam and is managed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. There are 2400 acres of wetland habitat managed for fishing that is critical for migrating birds, especially during winter. We did arrive at a perfect time.
As the sun rose behind us, the sky lit up. You can see the colored clouds reflected in the rippling water.
As with all southwest sunrises and sunsets, the colors changed and evolved second by second.
There were a good number of Grebes on the water. Western Grebes are not common during summers here but they do winter along the Colorado River. The Western Grebes have a black cap that covers their eye. The black cap surrounding the eye makes the Grebe's red eye stand out even more.
It was early in the morning so the morning light was still golden. When the Western Grebe turned towards me, its eyes appeared zombie-like.
The two Grebes in this shot are two different species. The Western Grebe on the left has a bill that is more gray and the black cap surrounds its eye. The Clark's Grebe on the right has a more orange bill and there is white surrounding its eye. These were considered the same species until 1985 when they were separated due to DNA differences, different calls and the lack of interbreeding.
The light quickly changed on the water. While looking at this shot of the Grebe, you can listen to different Western Grebe calls here.
Several Cormorants flew up river.
We heard another bird calling and couldn't figure out what it was or where it was. After a few minutes, we finally spotted an Osprey far across the pond on a bare tree-snag. In the quiet of the morning, with the air still, the Osprey's voice carried quite the distance.
Another part of the shore, across the water, was full of very tall reeds. A Snowy Egret perched above the water.
This close-up lets us see the Snowy's black bill, black legs and yellow feet. The Snowy Egret was not interested in feeding at the moment and remained perched.
The dirt road around Mittry Lake often crossed over dirt bridges where there were sizable bodies of water separated from the main lake. One larger water bodies remained in shadows behind hills and a Great Egret was fishing in the small, dark waters.
And there was more.......